1 Samuel 28:13

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure^[a] coming up out of the earth.”

1 Samuel 28:13 in Other Translations

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

13 The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the earth."

13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?” “I see a god coming up out of the earth,” she said.

13 The king told her, "You have nothing to fear . . . but what do you see?" "I see a spirit ascending from the underground."

13 But the king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" "I see a spirit form coming up out of the earth," the woman answered.

1 Samuel 28:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 28:13

And the king said unto her, be not afraid
Meaning not of the apparition, but of him; since he had sworn no punishment should come upon her, and he should inviolably observe his oath: for what sawest thou? for as yet Saul himself saw not anything, the woman being between him and the apparition; or she might be in another room with her familiar spirit performing the operations when Samuel appeared:

and the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth;
a great personage, one of a majestic form, like the gods, or judges and civil magistrates, sometimes so called, as Kimchi and R. Isaiah rightly interpret it; and so the Targum,

``I saw an angel of the Lord;''

a person that looked like one; for not many came up with him, and particularly Moses, as say some Jewish writers ^F4.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 T. Bab. Chagigah, fol. 4. 8. Pirke Eliezer, c. 33.

1 Samuel 28:13 In-Context

11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”

14 “What does he look like?” he asked. “An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

Cross References

• 1. ver 15; S Leviticus 19:31; 2 Chronicles 33:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "see spirits" ; or "see gods"